This subject is featured in the Outline of Suriname, which is incomplete and needs further development. That page, along with the other outlines on Wikipedia, is part of Wikipedia's Outline of Knowledge, which also serves as the table of contents or site map of Wikipedia.

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Suriname is included in the Wikipedia CD Selection, see Suriname at Schools Wikipedia. Please maintain high quality standards; if you are an established editor your last version in the article history may be used so please don't leave the article with unresolved issues, and make an extra effort to include free images, because non-free images cannot be used on the DVDs.

There are two "things" in the table. One is obviously the national flag. What is the thing on the right? Is it a national crest or something? It would be nice if they were labeled. -- Zoe— Preceding undated comment added 05:16, 12 January 2003‎

first - the flag is wrong. Since when were the stripes grey? second - that 'modified' (vandalised more like) map looks awful. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.131.0.199 (talk • contribs) 05:38, 24 December 2005

My Name is Winston Gummels, I am from Suriname. The map is wrong and it is ridiculous to say that the map includes illegally two disputed areas. Please put in a correct map for God's sake. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.2.178.143 (talk) 20:47, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

I've eliminated the sentence which stated as fact that market liberalization and "structural adjustment" were necessary elements of improving the economy. This is neo-liberal theory which has not panned out so well in reality in many nations and should not be stated as fact. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.211.25.92 (talk • contribs) 08:03, 10 February 2006

The soccer players were mostly born in Amsterdam, except for Seedorf. Daiver— Preceding undated comment added 22:56, 16 July 2006, but they have roots in Suriname. Their parents are ussually the ones born in Suriname. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.127.65.132 (talk • contribs) 20:38, 7 May 2007

Other than the crude map and flags, the only image in this article is a picture of some houses from 1955. Also, what is the picture of the tailor's shop doing way down below the external links? There must be a better place for it, there are three sections without any pictures. Can't we also get some more pictures? I unfortunatly don't have any to supply, but perhaps somebody else does. Sparkleiya 09:58, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

In my ongoing efforts to try to include every country on the planet included in the scope of a WikiProject, I have proposed a new project on South America at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals#South America whose scope would include Suriname. Any interested parties are more than welcome to add their names there, so we can see if there is enough interest to start such a project. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 17:13, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I am not sure if the name is correct and unfortunately do not have an American atlas to check it , according to "The Times World Atlas" it is Surinam, in the Article it is Suriname. A quick check of Google and it seems pretty evenly split can someone offer an answer.--Matt 06:21, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

The country is officially named Suriname. Although most dictionaries have corrected this(after a speech held by (name required) who made it official that Suriname should also be written as Suriname in english. SLM is the only company which is 'allowed' to be called Surinam Airways(Suriname Luchtvaart Maatschappij). This is mainly because it was named so before the official statement of (name required). (citation needed) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.127.65.132 (talk • contribs) 20:43, 7 May 2007

Since when the UN decides the name of the countries in the different languages? As far as I know the official name of Italy is Italia, the name of Spain is España, Germany is officially named Deutschland, and so on, but not in English! There's no reason to change their names just because officially they had a different name or have adopted a new one. Eyesighter (talk) 04:59, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Hello there, I have a request of protection due to high vandalism in this article. On a bad day the article turns out pretty ugly before being reverted. :S
Kind regards, MisteryX 13:59, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

They should turn off edits for IP#s alone Wikipedia wide.. It is possible to by annoymous as a User name alone. CaribDigita 16:34, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

The introduction currently reads "In native tongue it is called Sranang." What native tongue? Several? It makes no sense not to mantion what language(s) that name is in. JonHaraldSøby 00:33, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Re "In 1499 Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named discovered the Northern coast of South America and Spain explored Suriname in 1593." This latter date is obviously incorrect for the exploration of Suriname since Amerigo Vespucci lived from 1454 to 1512, according to the Wikipedia entry on Amerigo Vespucci. Although, the text in that entry also contradicts the 1454 birthdate with "Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy in March of 1451". I do not have enough knowledge of Vespucci to verify his date of exploration of Suriname, but 1499 seems to jive with the stated exploration of northern South America. This line is also confusing since 2 different dates are given, both referring to his exploration of Suriname, so the correct date is needed. Sentence needs clarification.99.246.67.172 17:36, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

A European mercenary by the name of Karl Penta organised a successful campaign to destabilise the military regime that ruled Suriname under the dictator, Dési Bouterse ??????

I never heard of Karl Penta. I suppose the group which destabalised the Bouterse government was lead by Ronny Brunswijk — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.98.52.19 (talk • contribs) 21:19, 5 July 2007

The "history" section uses the name "Suriname" throughout, which seems to be anachronistic since it used to be called Surinam and before that Netherlands Guiana. The contemporary names should be used as appropriate - it is important to know when the name officially changed to Surinam and then Suriname. Hairy Dude (talk) 18:02, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

From the Sports section:
Anthony Nesty is the only person to win a medal (for swimming) for Suriname at the Olympics. Originally from Trinidad, not Suriname, he now lives in Gainesville, Florida, USA, and is a coach of the University of Florida. Mainly a distance coach and is planning on coaching the Olympics for Suriname in Beijing for 2008.
This should either be verified or removed. Thanks. 77.125.18.122 (talk) 20:33, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

The Suriname "Economy" section is cloudy. First, it does not state what structural adjustment did to the economy. Then it implies, presumably from an antagonistic Dutch or US perspective and without presenting the counterfactual, that abandoning structural adjustment provided a worse outcome than the structural adjustment trend. This is difficult to believe, considering all the other horrible examples of structural adjustment around the world. Yet the Suriname economic consequences of abandoning structural adjustment do not present anywhere near as bad an economic decline (especially given the starting point of being a heavily-indebted peripheral country) as is currently occurring in the center of neoliberal economic and political programs, whence structural adjustment designs originated. The Suriname Economy section is structured with a neoliberal, core-country bias, and can use some work. 71.223.132.242 (talk) 17:01, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

"One of four non-Spanish speaking countries in South America not bordered by any Hispanophone countries" ???[edit]

Since when are Brazil and Guyana not bordered by Hispanophone countries? And since when is French Guiana a country? It's a wonderful article, and I think I know what the author meant to write; but I think the sentence at the end of the introduction should be changed to say something like: "Unlike the other three non-Spanish speaking countries in South America (Brazil, Guyana, and France), Suriname is the only one not bordered by any Hispanophone country." Any other suggestions? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rcgy (talk • contribs) 15:56, 2 February 2009

I will be keeping an eye on the External Links section. It seems like it's being used for commercial benefits, which is against guidelines. Stretsh (talk) 03:40, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

The links I removed were mostly commercial. The link to Suriname Tourism and Travel Network was removed because the site lacks sufficient information about Suriname. Links, such as Fishing, only have 2 sentences of information, while talking about "the island of Suriname".

Now to clean up the Tourism section... Stretsh (talk) 04:05, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

I think it should be rewritten. And, it looks so original research so it might even need to be removed. mbslrm 04:55, 20 October 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mbslrm (talk • contribs)

I find the following statment a bit suspect: "The country is the only Dutch-speaking region in the Western Hemisphere that is not a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands." What about Flanders in Belgium? It is also a Dutch-speaking region, and it is not part of the Netherlands.

The statement in the article is correct. As you pointed out, the article says that "The country is the only Dutch-speaking region in the Western Hemisphere that is not a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands." The operative words are "in the Western Hemisphere". Flanders (in Belgium) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, so the original statement is correct. Twjdotcom (talk) 02:44, 15 December 2009 (UTC)Laurie vE

In Suriname, driving on the left-hand side of the road is because the first cars imported to Suriname came from England. As far as I know, this used to be teached in schools in Suriname. Another explanation can be found at http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm. quote: "About a quarter of the world drives on the left, and the countries that do are mostly old British colonies. This strange quirk perplexes the rest of the world; but there is a perfectly good reason.In the past, almost everybody travelled on the left side of the road because that was the most sensible option for feudal, violent societies. Since most people are right-handed, swordsmen preferred to keep to the left in order to have their right arm nearer to an opponent and their scabbard further from him. Moreover, it reduced the chance of the scabbard (worn on the left) hitting other people. Furthermore, a right-handed person finds it easier to mount a horse from the left side of the horse, and it would be very difficult to do otherwise if wearing a sword (which would be worn on the left). It is safer to mount and dismount towards the side of the road, rather than in the middle of traffic, so if one mounts on the left, then the horse should be ridden on the left side of the road. In the late 1700s, however, teamsters in France and the United States began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver's seat; instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since he was sitting on the left, he naturally wanted everybody to pass on the left so he could look down and make sure he kept clear of the oncoming wagon’s wheels. Therefore he kept to the right side of the road. In addition, the French Revolution of 1789 gave a huge impetus to right-hand travel in Europe. The fact is, before the Revolution, the aristocracy travelled on the left of the road, forcing the peasantry over to the right, but after the storming of the Bastille and the subsequent events, aristocrats preferred to keep a low profile and joined the peasants on the right. An official keep-right rule was introduced in Paris in 1794. Later, Napoleon's conquests spread the new rightism to the Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Russia and many parts of Spain and Italy. The states that had resisted Napoleon kept left – Britain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Portugal. This European division, between the left- and right-hand nations would remain fixed for more than 100 years, until after the First World War. /-/ When the Dutch arrived in Indonesia in 1596, they brought along their habit of driving on the left. It wasn't until Napoleon conquered the Netherlands that the Dutch started driving on the right. Most of their colonies, however, remained on the left as did Indonesia and Suriname." LIBRE Li Surname (talk) 09:59, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

I have this idea that if you want to make people know who are in charge, the population will either keep left, or be ordered to keep left. They are not rigid in that sence in Gibraltar, but Cypriots keep left, possibly as to show they are not Turks (or Greeks for that matter). However, Hong Kong is on the left.

If the British cars have dictated that Suriname is on the left, the Dutch would logically make a huge importation of French or German cars, and tell them to keep right. It does surprise me that Suriname, an official part of the Netherlands (up til 1975), has cars that are driven in a counter-clockwise manner.--82.134.28.194 (talk) 11:32, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

I find the phrasing 'The reason for the left hand drive in Suriname is explained by several sources' a little confusing and unfortunate as 'left hand drive' refers to a vehicle operator layout that is optimized for driving on the right. May I offer 'The reason that Suriname drives on the left is explained by several sources' instead? 81.164.152.54 (talk) 15:36, 20 July 2012 (UTC)

I went right ahead and made this change because nobody disagreed with me 81.164.152.54 (talk) 17:46, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Relevance of the similarity of the name to the word "submarine"?[edit]

From the Etymology section: "It is worth noticing that Suriname is the country with a name most similar to the word submarine." Please tell me this is vandalism?

There is no predominant religion in the country. Christianity, both in the form of Roman Catholicism and various denominations of Protestantism, is dominant among Creoles and Maroons. The Creoles and to a lesser degree the Maroons, both descendants of enslaved Africans, were forced to convert to Christianity, but a lot of them still retain their Afro-American religion called Winti. Most of the Hindustani are Hindu, but some practice Islam or Christianity. The Javanese practice either Islam or Christianity.

Suriname's population is 20% Muslim, which is the highest minority-percentage of Muslims of any country in the New World(after India having Muslims 13.4%).[1]

"Suriname is one of the few countries in the world where a synagogue is located next to a mosque." seems not only a dubious fact, but the referenced page makes no mention of it. dk4 (talk) 16:37, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Actually, there really is a synagogue located right next to a mosque in Paramaribo. I've seen it with my own eyes. Come here and you'll no longer question the validity of the fact once and for all. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.179.142.184 (talk) 12:32, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

You forgot Guyana, where an English-based creole is the main mother tongue and English is the official language. Also, it's spelt "French Guiana" (but the former British colony is "Guyana"). saɪm duʃanTalk|Contribs 10:37, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

Not particularly, and we're actually not that interested in insertions by IP hopping editors who also insist that the Holocaust is "Truth by Consensus".[1][2][3]Jayjg(talk) 23:27, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

When reading the article, it is clear that Suriname is the only country in the world where Jews came close to dominating the slave trade. Andries (talk) 18:24, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

On second thoughts, I do not think that this subject is important enough to be mentioned here. It is already linked to History of Suriname which is fine. Andries (talk) 08:37, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

Same thing was recently added quite surreptitiously, this time in a quite underhanded, deliberate fashion making it seem like all Jews in the Western hemisphere were busy beating slaves.[4] I've removed it, as it misused a quote from its original context, placed it in quite another, with just enough emphasis to blame Jews for slavery...again. Viriditas (talk) 10:37, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

There seems to be some big differences in the way population is provided in this article. In the infobox, it states that in 2004 it was 520,050 but has declined to 500,050 as of 2010. While in the article under demographics a seemingly random 494,347 as of 2007. So while it is possible that the population declined to that number in 2007, and then rebounded to where it stands in 2010, I find it hard to believe considering that the fertility rate mentioned in the article is well above the replacement rate of 2, and there seems to be a positive influx of immigrants, notably from China. Anawrahta (talk) 10:01, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

The data in the infobox are plainly wrong (probably unnoticed vandalism). The 2004 census listed 492,829 inhabitants ref, the July 2011 estimate of the CIA is 491,989 ref. The 2007 data is probably CIA data that's not on the website anymore. I will edit the article accordingly. Fentener van Vlissingen (talk) 13:38, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

According to the Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek (the official statistical body for Suriname), the preliminary result of the most recent census - held on 13 August 2012 - was a total of 534,189. Rif Winfield (talk) 09:56, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

I find that the "Sports" section of this article is far to long and full of irrelevant information, and I feel there is enough content to start a new "Sport in Suriname" article. (The page is currently a redirect to the "Sports" section) However, the section is largely unreferenced, and I don't want to start a new page with out any references in it. I would appreciate help from an editor who is more familiar with sports to find references for the statements made or else remove unneeded content. Thanks. --Tea with toast(話) 21:46, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

The Suriname Olympic Committee is the national governing body for sports in Suriname. The SOC was established in 1959 and now has 17 members. Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Chess, Cycling, Judo, Karate, Shooting, Soccer, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwando, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, and Wrestling.

Other somewhat popular sports in Suriname are baseball and softball, beach soccer and beach volley, boating, body building and power lifting, bridge, cricket, draughts, fishing, golf, horseback riding, snooker and billiards, squash, auto and motor sports.

One of the major sports in Suriname is football. Some of the greatest football players to represent the Netherlands, such as Fabian de Freitas, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Aron Winter, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Stanley Menzo, Ryan Babel, Ken Monkou, Edson Braafheid, Boy Waterman, Regi Blinker, Fabian Wilnis and Eljero Elia are of Surinamese descent. Davids in particular has written of his passionate pride in his Surinamese heritage and his love of attending football matches there.

There are a number of local heroes in other sports as well, like Primraj Binda, best known as the athlete who dominated the local 10 km (6.2 mi) for nearly a decade, Steven Vismale also for the triathlon and another notable track athlete from Suriname was Tommy Asinga. The most famous international athlete from Suriname is Letitia Vriesde.

Letitia Vriesde She won a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 1995 behind Ana Quirot. This was in addition to the bronze medal she had already achieved earlier that year at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. These medals were the first to be won by a South American female athlete in world championship competition. She also won a bronze medal at the 2001 world outdoor championships, but has never managed to reach an Olympic final. At the 1992 Summer Olympics she set a record of sorts by recording the fastest ever non-qualifying time in an 800 metre semi final. She has also won many medals at the Pan-American Games and Central American Games. Winning 5 CACSO gold medals in 1990 (Mexico City 1500 m), 1993 (Ponce 800 m & 1500 m), 1998 (Maracaibo 800 m) & 2002 (El Salvador 800 m). One Pan Am Games gold medal in 1999 Winnipeg, Canada. However she was disqualified and stripped of another gold medal after the 2003 Pan-American Games after testing positive for excessive caffeine levels. She was not banned however and went on to compete at that year's World Championships.

Swimmer Anthony Nesty is the only Olympic medallist for Suriname. He won the Gold Medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics at Seoul, South Korea. His winning time at the 100-meter butterfly; he finished the event in 53.00 seconds, was an Olympic Record at that time. In 1987, he won the gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly and the bronze medal in the 200-metre butterfly at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, Indiana. These victories established the foundation that would lead to his success at the Seoul Olympics. He was unbeaten in the 100-metre butterfly event for three years. Nesty won gold medals in the 100-metre butterfly at the Goodwill Games in 1990 and the FINA World Championships in 1991. At the 1991 Pan-American Games in Havana, Cuba, he again won a gold medal in 100-metre butterfly and a silver in the 200-metre butterfly. He attempted to defend his 1988 Olympic gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, but finished with a third-place Olympic bronze. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, he now lives in Gainesville, Florida, and is a coach of the University of Florida, mainly coaching distance swimmers. The Indoor Stadium in Paramaribo is named after him.

Badminton is a small, but most successful and fairly popular sport in Suriname. The National Badminton Association, the Surinaamse Badminton Bond (SBB), was founded on November 16th, 1958. The first individual National champions, back in 1965 the late Romeo Ebeciljo Caster and the late Lilian Bendter were most famous in their days. Together with Trinidad, Guyana and Jamaica Suriname founded the Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation, known as Carebaco in 1972. Suriname hosted the Carebaco Games 6 times. In 1973, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1999 & 2007. Players from Suriname have won numerous titles at these Carebaco Games, both in the individual as well as in the team event. In the early years Suriname gained more titles with the adults, in later years more with the juniors. Ro Caster was also the first Carebaco Caribbean men's singles Champion in 1972 & 1973. Roel Sjauw Mook & Otmar "Arti" Kersout became Carebaco Caribbean men's doubles champions in 1974, 1975 & 1976. The ladies Diana Uiterloo & Loes Sjauw Mook won the ladies doubles at the Carebaco Games 1978. In the same year Mike van Daal won the juniors most outstanding player throphy for the first time. In 1980 Hedwig de La Fuente & John Sno won the Carebaco boys doubles juniors title. In 1982 Hedwig de La Fuente gained the juniors triple crown for Suriname. (Boys singles, doubles with Steve Nobibux & mixed with Sherida Ramzan). In 1983 Steve Nobibux also won the Carebaco juniors mixed with Joan Jong Pian Kie. In 1984 Mike van Daal won the men's singles & men's doubles Carebaco title with brother Clyde van Daal. Carmen Partoredjo won the girls doubles with Audrey Pawironadi & mixed doubles with Steve Nobibux in the juniors event. In 1985 Mike van Daal won the Carebaco triple crown (Doubles with John Sno & mixed doubles with Sherida Ramzan). In the same year the Surinamese juniors won a Carebaco clean sweep with team & individual golds. Marlon Djojodiwongso won the boys singles & mixed doubles with Audrey Pawironadi. Audrey captured the Carebaco juniors triple championship with a singles & doubles victory with Donna Amatkarijo also. Oscar Brandon & Milton Djojodiwongso won the Carebaco boys doubles title for Suriname. In 1986 the juniors retained their team title and almost retained the clean sweep individual. Marlon Djojodiwongso won the boys singles & boys doubles with Fayaz Nazir. Fayaz Nazir also won the mixed doubles with Audrey Pawironadi, who on her turn also won the girls singles in 1986. After these years the Carebaco success of Suriname continued especially with the junior badminton players.

In 1990 Suriname participated for the first time at the Pan American Junior Badminton Championships in Guatemala City. In the girls doubles U-19 Suriname won silver with Letitia Wongsodimedjo & the late Thalitia Sjauw Mook. In 2002 Mitchel Wongsodikromo & Virgil Soeroredjo also won silver for Suriname at the Pan Am Juniors U-19 boys doubles event in the USA after they won gold in the year 2000 in the U-17 boys doubles event in Cuba already. The junior team of Suriname won a Pan Am bronze medal in 2002 in Orange County, USA for the first time. Both players won a bronze medal in men's singles at the 2002 CACSO Games in El Salvador. In 2010 the badminton team of Suriname gained a bronze medal at the Odesur South American Games for the team event championships and also for the individual mixed doubles event (Mitchel Wongsodikromo & Crystal Leefmans). Also in 2010 Virgil Soeroredjo & Mitchel Wongsodikromo won a bronze medal for Suriname in the men's doubles event at the CACSO Games of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Nowadays the SBB yearly organizes the Suriname International Badminton Open event in Paramaribo. This is a prize money badminton tournament part of the Badminton World Federation calendar sanctioned as an Olympic Qualifying and World Ranking event. The Suriname International 2010 and 2011 editions both had a total prize money purse of US$ 5000,-

Oscar Brandon, the most successful badminton player of Suriname till now, participated in 1996 at the Atlanta Summer Olympics. In his career Oscar Brandon won a fourth place semi-final in men's singles at the 1990 CACSO Games in Mexico City. He was also winner of the men's singles at the Suriname International 1998, runner-up of the Argentina International in 1998 and winner of the mixed doubles at the Brazil Sao Paolo Cup & Argentina International in 1998 with Adrienn Kocsis from Peru. In 1998 he was declared winner of the Pan American Badminton Circuit. In 2009 he was runner-up in the men's doubles at the Suriname International with partner Rahul Rampersad from Trinidad & Tobago. Nowadays Brandon is a coach, technical director of the SBB and Chef de Mission for the Suriname Olympic Committee at multi-sport events like the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Multiple K-1 champion and legend, Ernesto Hoost, was born in Suriname. Rayen Simson, another legendary multiple world champion kickboxer, was also born in Suriname.Remy Bonjasky also a multiple K-1 champion is also from Surinamese descent. MMA and Kickboxing champions Melvin Manhoef, Gilbert Yvel were born in Suriname or from Surinamese descent. Retired female kickboxer Ilonka Elmont was also born in Suriname. Another notable up and comer kickboxer and K-1 fighter, Tyrone Spong, was born in Suriname. Ginty Vrede, a former Muay Thai Heavy Weight Champion who died in 2008 aged 22, was born in Suriname. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.172.157.149 (talk) 12:05, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

I don't understand the distinction between "arrivals" and "departures" this section - surely all carriers fly both ways? Also why is this a separate section and not a sub-section of transport? Thryduulf (talk) 03:33, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

There is a discrepancy in the location of this country as given in this article. In the Geography section it is stated that "it mostly lies between latitudes 1° and 6°N", while in the Climate section it is said to lie "2 to 5 degrees north of the equator". While the range 2 to 5°N is between 1 and 6°N, it seems strange to use different numbers for the same thing.--Khajidha (talk) 15:05, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Namaste. My name is Paulo Tramujas, originally from Brazil. I have been studying the culture of India, such as Vedanta and Sanskrit for many years, and after some research, I have come to some conclusions regarding the origins of the names "Suriname", "Paramaribo" and Guiana", which might shed some light on the existing controversy regarding the country's name origin.

As known, there isn't a clear definition about the etymological roots of these names. Some believe it to be of Amerindian origin, such as the main article suggests, that the name Suriname may derive from a Taino (Arawak-speaking) group called "Surinen" who first inhabited the region before European arrival.

Nevertheless, the facts that I have gathered seem to point on another direction not yet approached, apparently. According to the history of Suriname, the Dutch and British slave trade brought to this part of the globe, a vast number of slaves and workers from both Africa and India, throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.

Today, due to this fact, the majority of the population of this country, as exposed in the main article, is of Indian origin, and practitioners the Sanatam Dharma, or Hinduism (37%). Interestingly enough, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, on Suriname's western border, and also a former colony of the Netherlands, has an even higher Hindu population - 43%.

My research finds its foundation in the long history of Hindus in Suriname, a history of over 400 years. It seems quite obvious that since Hindus have been the majority of the population for many centuries, that the choice of the country's name and its capital might have derived from Sanskrit words, the language of their culture and religion.

Still today there are no conclusive studies about the etymological origin of the words "Suriname" and "Paramaribo." I suggest, due to the long Hindu influence, and specially due to the clear similarity of the words, that the word "Suriname" probably comes from the ancient Sanskrit term "Suryanamah", meaning "salutation to the sun" (surya सूर्य - sun, नमः namaha - greeting).

"Paramaribo", in turn, might as well come from two Sanskrit terms, "Param" and "Haribol", meaning "great Vishnu" (परम Param - great, or even "supreme being" and हरिबोल - Haribol the 650.° name of Vishnu, in the list of 1000 names, as pronounced by the character Bhishma in the epic Mahabharata.) Vishnu, for those acquainted with Hinduism, is one of the main deities of their religion, being Krishna and Buddha the most known incarnations of this deity, as exposed in the Vishnu Purana.

Also, it is possible to infer that the word chosen to name the country of Guyana also has Sanskrit origins, meaning "wisdom" (jñāna - ज्ञान). In all three words, Suriname, Paramaribo and Guyana, the pronunciation of the words is not similar, but exactly the same as in Sanskrit - Suryanamah, Param Haribol, and Guiana.

Actually, one of the oldest traditions of Yoga carries the same word, "Jnana Yoga" (pronounced Guyana Yoga), and refers to the lineage of yoga known as the "yoga of wisdom." This term is vastly exposed in Vedic literature, as well as in Buddhist ans Jain scriptures.

The similarities of these words to Sanskrit terms is to great to be left unseen, along with the main Hindu population of this area, which has been influencing the country since its birth, in the 17th century. It is not surprising that the country could, after all, be named after the main population living in that area. Besides, all of these words, "Suriname", "Paramaribo", and "Guyana" are not only philosophically, culturally and religiously connected, but also geographically, taking into consideration the closeness of these countries.

I highly recommend contacting a scholar of Sanskrit in Suriname, if there is one available in the Hindu community of Paramaribo, in order to check these facts, and to put them down into strict scrutiny, for they might indeed expose some truths on the matter of Suriname's name source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.167.80.45 (talk • contribs) 09:28, 20 November 2012

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I request the second and third worlds of the Suriname's Motto be change to "Piety" and "Faith" because this is the correct translation from Latin, like anyone can consult in any dictionary like translate.google.com Marcus Freitas (talk) 15:44, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. You'd need to establish that your preferred translation is supported by such a source specifically with regard to Suriname's motto. Perhaps you can do that, but in many cases there isn't one "correct translation". In the case of these words, pietas is commonly used to refer to duty (see our well-sourced article on the word) and "fides" often refers not to faith but to faithfulness—i.e., loyalty—as a simple search will confirm. Beware of Google translations; they're often misleading and never definitive. Rivertorch (talk) 15:43, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

"The Maroons often raided the plantations to recruit new members from the slaves and capture women, as well as acquire weapons, food and supplies. The planters and their families were sometimes killed in the raids; colonists built defenses, which were so important they were shown on 18th-century maps, but these were not sufficient.[12] The colonists also mounted armed campaigns against the Maroons, but they generally escaped through the rainforest, which they knew much better than did the colonists. To end hostilities, in the 19th century the European colonial authorities signed several peace treaties with different tribes. They granted the Maroons sovereign status and trade rights in their inland territories."

This section seems a bit angled - can you look into that? It seems like the colonists are the heroes trying to "protect" their slaves from the Maroons and that they finally release the people of Suriname.. They first actually enslaved them and perhaps the article should not point them out as heroes then. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hmmlan (talk • contribs) 22:01, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Suriname (or Surinam), officially known as the Republic of Suriname (Dutch: Republiek Suriname, Dutch pronunciation: [ˌrepyˈblik ˌsyriˈnaːmə]), is a country in northern South America. It is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, making it the only country not to border any of the Spanish-speaking countries on the continent. (French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France, does not border any Spanish-speaking countries either.) Suriname was colonized by the English and the Dutch in the 17th century.

How can the last part of the second sentence, "making it the only country not to border any of the Spanish-speaking countries on the continent," be true if the third sentence, "French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France, does not border any Spanish-speaking countries either," is true? – CorinneSD (talk) 00:45, 10 November 2013 (UTC)

Simple—French Guiana isn't a country. Well, it fits our definition of country, but not that of everyday usage, where "country" refers to a sovereign state. So the language could use some tweaking, but I suspect most readers will understand. --BDD (talk) 19:13, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

I think it would be helpful to add some statement or phrase that would clarify the word "resorts". The noun "resort" normally means a vacation spot, and I don't think that is the meaning here. I see the link to the article "Resorts of Suriname," but there is no link at the word in the paragraph. If a reader misses the link to the article, its use here just leaves the reader wondering. – CorinneSD (talk) 01:02, 10 November 2013 (UTC)

I wonder whether the information in the first paragraph in the section "December killings" is up-to-date. Specifically, the tense of the verbs in the last three sentences in that paragraph should probably be changed to past tense, and perhaps some dates could be added. – CorinneSD (talk) 02:05, 10 November 2013 (UTC)

In the section on "Health", various figures are given. All the verbs are in past tense, indicating the figures are from previous years. However, some figures are given with no year. Two sentences give a year, but they are different years. It would be nice if someone could add the year, or years, for these figures, and perhaps update them if there are more recent figures.CorinneSD (talk) 18:15, 10 November 2013 (UTC)

I was looking at the tree map that was just added to the section on the "Economy" and I noticed that, while the tree map shows that artificial corundum represents 27% of the economy, that product is mentioned nowhere in the section on the economy nor in the list at the end of the section. It would be nice if some information about it could be added to the article.CorinneSD (talk) 15:49, 6 December 2013 (UTC)

I've been busy trying to fix the basics of this article to get the article upgraded in its Wikiprojects. Anyone else out there want to help? I've taken my cue from FA country articles in the countries wikiproject (see top of page). Thanks, ৳€Ø฿€ƦȺ₡Ⱥƪ৳€Ø฿€ƦȺ₡Ⱥƪ 06:45, 28 March 2014 (UTC)

Hi, the source being referenced for the claim that planters were mainly gypsies never actually says that gypsies travelled to Suriname. Rather, it talks about the immigration waves from/to Holland, such as the gypsy immigration to Holland, and the planters emigrating to Suriname and later coming back to Holland. These are two examples of Dutch immigration waves, not the same immigration wave. 86.95.100.14 (talk) 23:31, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

whether they accept it or not they were called zigeuners by the dutch and it's their problem to figure out with the netherlands government to correct this. It should state clearly in the article that they were called gypsies. Ignorance is not bliss. All textbooks in the 70s and 80s clearly state that they are zigeuners— Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.49.157.227 (talk) 20:17, 12 July 2015 (UTC)

Does anybody have any information about whether the total area given for Suriname (163,820 km²) includes the territories currently under Guyana's and France's control but claimed by Suriname?--Colomen (talk) 18:26, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

I see punwasi and other not very significant people of Surinamese origin have a wiki entry also in other languages (dutch) with zero achievements they should be nominated for deletion and also puffery of their resumes. Punwasi page for instance should mention that many position in the judiciary were purposely not filled. Who puts these people in these positions?

I have just added archive links to 2 external links on Suriname. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add {{cbignore}} after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add {{nobots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:

During this period Suriname made so much money that they started broadcasting porn over the air. Faried Pierkhan is a notable hajji who proudly kept this traditional alive and now they have a mosque next to the wealthy Jews on the Keizerstraat. Some crazy christians sects like Jehovah's witnesses and others like mormons in the military think that this is the cause of the december killings and the president of suriname should not be blamed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.49.211.124 (talk) 00:38, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

jaisingh jessie narain was the first drag queen in suriname to popularize cross dressing probably due to his discharged brothers from the military. It should state in the article under hindustani culture. Also he is being controlled by the secret service now to stop having sex msm and is now married wit three forced children. All his brothers have gay tendencies. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.49.209.165 (talk) 07:07, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

This article should be updated with reference to the Sustainable development goals (September 25, 2015, ff). The article should also address Suriname's vulnerabilities to global climate disruption. Consider also its goals of developing a carbon-neutral economy in ways which will protect the nation's ecosystem. MaynardClark (talk) 00:35, 26 September 2015 (UTC)

Racism and discrimination by blacks/christians in the government[edit]

Ethnic Indians in Suriname need to file a lawsuit against the government of Suriname for systematic discrimination of Indians by the black and or christian majority in government at the time of independence and before the independence.(harassment by teachers, public officials, verbal threats, inequal access to religious education/healthcare and forced conversions). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.55.16.156 (talk) 13:59, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

Maybe there should be some mention that Indans from India are now influencing local culture in a way that is totally different from Surinamese Hinduism as it was practiced in 1800s India. Indian Hinduism has changed so much since then and with Indians from India arriving in Suriname it is impacting religion negatively more towards religions that were absorbed into vedic hinduism (snake worship, senseless rituals, effeminism, jainism, ahimsa etc etc.) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.98.100.138 (talk) 05:49, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

That sounds really interesting, and if you have reliable sources that discuss this phenomenon in a neutral manner and the extent to which it is changing Surinamese culture, I think the article could benefit from it. But first, we need the reliable sources. -- Irn (talk) 17:01, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

Between 75 to 100,000 people from the USA live in Suriname, mainly retirees seeking a lower-cost place to live. Suriname competes with neighboring Guyana, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Belize along with the entire Caribbean (exceptions being Cuba and Haiti) in American expatriate retirement and real estate. Suriname has quite close ties to Europe and the USA, similar to French Guyana and Puerto Rico (US rule).67.49.89.214 (talk) 14:57, 28 July 2016 (UTC)